Lamp



Sept. 19, 1944. b. w. PAUL 2,358,347

LAMP

Filed July 26, 1940 IS She ets- -Sheet 1 fiovngg."

wmamkixm,

Sept. 19,1944.

D. W. PAUL LAMP 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 26, 1940 lllllll ThvenTorhnM'N L5? wk fifiorneu BAWM Sept. 19, 1944. D. w. PAUL LAMP Filed July 26, 1940 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented Sept. 19, 1944 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Donald w. Paul, oiiicaga, in. Application July 26; 1940, Serial No. 247,71? 7 claims. (01. 240 81 This invention relates to lamps, and it has for its object the provision of a new and improved form and arrangement of parts by wl'iich an effectively difiused light shall be produced with a" minimum tendency for the lamp to produce shadows onthe ceiling orthewall of the room in which the lamp is used. In working out this object, I have employed translucent material such as parchment or the like arranged in a great variety of different novel combination by which the diffusion of the light is controlled for attaining the desired results. i

In many of the novel combinations the light is caused to pass through a plurality of thicknesses of translucent material, with the gradation from one number of thicknesses to a different number'marked merely by the unsupported edge of one of the thicknesses of material. with the result that the light is extremely soft and mell'owand the contrast from one step to the next is extremely mellow andbland. I q

In the preferred form of my improved lamp,

I employ a translucent'structurein the form of.

a spiral or scroll with the electric light bulb, or other source of light, in substantially centered position in the scroll, the scroll being positioned either vertically or horizontally, orin other desired angular arrangement. The translucent scroll is preferably supported by a. strip of metal bent into spiral form with the light bulb suppqrted inmost cases by the looped metal; strip. This metal strip i preferably resilient with the scroll material of such length that the looped support is normally held distorted into slightly expanded condition by the pressure of the scrollmaterial on the strip, the arrangement being such that as the temperature of the translucent scroll material and the metal strip rises the strip is" adapted to yield-to the necessary extent for keeping the scroll material at all times smoothly in the predetermined designed relationship to the strip.

In one of the formsofdevice as shown, asheet' of parchment or thelike} is employed, held flat' by the supportingmeans in position" for displaying advantageously advertising signsubjectmatter on its face;

It is another object ofthisinvention to improve lamps in sundry details'hereinafterpointed out. The preferred means-by'which my several objects are attained are shown in the accompanying drawings; in which Fig. 1 is a side elevationofapreferred rein-i of lamp embodying myinventio'n.

melee ii Fig. 4'.

w rangement shown, the

\ point along the strip by which electric light bulbs I 'stantially centered position with respectItd'th At its outer end, the strip 2 I is" pick 7 adapted to" hold position Fig. 2 is an end view of the lamp shown in Fig. 1 as seen from the right therein;

.Fig- 2a i a ns de f ew of a f a m nta y portion of thescroll material and its associated parts, substantially as seen at the line Za-Za of Fig.3 is aside elevational view showing a modified form of the lamp. e U e J Fig 4 is a front face View of a combination lamp and advertisin sign structure. U Fig. 5is an end view of the device as-seen from Fig; 6 is a side elevational view' of a modifiedform oflamp. t Fig. 7 is a central vertical sectional View through the lamp of Fig. 6. J

Fig 8' is a side elevatiofial ..,.r w qia parts broken away for clearform of lamp, with ness ofillus'tration. V v 1 Fig; 9'is-a top plan view'of still anothermodifid ioiin i isms; Fig. 10 is a vertical section View" taken sub staiitially at the lirie |'o |uo' Fig; 9, and

Fig. 11' i's'a'n' inside face view of a fragmentary portion of the'scrollof the lamp'of Fig. 9" sub staritianyasseen at the line I of Fig. 9: Referring now to the several figures of the drawings in which corresponding'parts are indicated' by the same reference characters 20"ifi'-. dicats a base of" any suitable'type havin a', spiral; 2 I secured in vertical position th reon; I the spiral being in the form of stripo'f metalbii t' into spiral form as is best shown inFig 2, a'ri'clbe ing secured to the base 20 at an; intermediate" clearly'sliown'in Fig. 2. part of the spiral 2! extending toward the left from'th'e bolt 22 in'Figi 2comprisfes an'outer loop, and thef pa'rt extending toward the right froni' said bolt 22 compri'ses'an inner loop: At its ner end, the strip '21 is belit""'wardly at anaiigle and is connected with a socket member 24 in 2 Fire mounted 'ilfSliH spiral 2 l1 H Vided with a hook 26 one edge ofa'sheet of translueeiit material 'I which in" the" arrangement I shown the forni I of a pieceof parchment which is notched at m receiving the hook 21s as is clearly 'shewr iiin Fig'; 2a; The'sheet'material is held in 'sp ral form corresponding to the form of the strip zl, vitii its inner edge engaging thellhop k'23f. are s r l resi ient a to yieldupon the application of a comparatively light pressure thereon. The parchment sheet 21, wound loosely into the form of a volute scroll as shown in Fig. 1, is of such length between the hooks 23 and 26 as to cause the spiral to be expanded very slightly from normal condition upon the threading of the sheet material into position in the spiral, such expansion being produced by the pressure of the parchment sheet at its ends on the hooks longitudinally of said strip2|-.

/ In the arrangement shown, an electric light wire 29 is connected with the base 28 and extends upwardly through the wall of the base into en- 'gagement with around on the outer face of the strip 2| to the socket 24 with which it has an effective electrical connection in any suitable manner. The wire 29 is preferably connected with a switch of any suitable form, not shown, located inside of the base 28 for controlling the delivery of current to the light bulbs 25, such switch being controlled by a thumb piece 30 of any suitable type as shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

With the parchment 21 notched at both ends for engagement with the hooks 23 and 26, and with the proportions of the parts such as to cause the spiral to be placed slightly under tension under normal conditions, the parchment is held very securely and very smoothly in position.

As the heat at the bulb 25 builds up gradually, so as to raise the temperature of the scroll 21 and the spiral 2|, the parts are adapted to yield to the necessary extent as expansion takes place for keeping the scroll constantly under light 7 spring tension.

In the arrangement as shown in Fig. 3, the construction is generally similar to that'above described, except that the parchment is placed in vertical position rather than in horizontal position. In the lamp of Fig. 3 a base 3| is provided with a standard 32 upon which a spiral 33 is secured so as to support a parchment 34 in the form of a scroll about a source of light in centered position within the scroll. A thumb piece 35 isshown for operating the switch by which the delivery of current to the light source means is controlled.

In th device of Figs. 4 and a base 38 of any suitable type is provided, having brackets 31 rigidly mounted thereon, the brackets 31 being their outer ends with a flattened connected at tubular member 38 which is secured at an intermediate point there along to the brackets. The major portion of the tubular member 38 is straight and held in oblique position, as is clearly shown in Fig. 5, with its upper and lower end portions bent into the form of loops 39 and 48. At the free end portions of the loops, the tubular member 38 is bent inwardly and is connected in each instance with a socket member 4| supporting the electric light bulbs 42, the electric light Wire 43 for supplying current to the bulbs being the spiral 2| and extends thence v In th arrangement shown in Figs. 6 and '7, a base 45 is provided having a standard 46 rising therefrom for supporting an electric light bulb 41 at its upper end. Upon the bulb 41, a bracket 48 is releasably mounted by means of a clip 49 of any suitable type, the bracket 48 being connected at its free end with a spiral member 58 similar to the spiral member 2| as shown in Fig. 2, the spiral 50 being connected at its inner end portion with the bracket 48. At its outer endportion, thespiral member 58 is bent inwardly at an abrupt angle for connecting the outer ply of the coil with the adjacent ply at 5|. A sheet or translucent material 52 in the form of a scroll is supported by the spiral 50 by notched engagement with the spiral at its end portions.

.,The arrangement is such that the spiral 58 and scroll 52 can be supported from any lamp under any ordinary conditions.

In the arrangement shown in Fig. 8, a base member 53 preferably of porcelain, is provided with a cross bar 54 at opposite ends of which two spiral members 55 and 5 B are mounted in vertical position, such spiral members 55 and 56 being of' similar size and shape so as to cooperate with each other for holding a scroll 51 removably in position, such scroll 51 being formed of parchment or similar material. The base 53 is provided with a socket member 58 in which an electric light bulb 59 is removably mounted in centered position with respect to the scroll 51. As

is shown at the right in Fig.8, each of the spiral members 55 and 56 is provided with a book 68 at its inner end having engagement with a notch 6| in the inner edge of the scroll 51. At its outer end, it is in notched engagement with the socket member 58. The construction is'such that the scroll 51 can be very quickly and easily placed in position or removed therefrom when desired.

In the arrangement of Fig. 9, a base 62 is 9 provided supporting a standard 63 at the upper end portion of which a spiral member 64 is connected at its outer end portion. An auxiliary strip of sheet metal 85 is provided along the outer face of the spiral member 64 for reinforcing the spiral member 54 at its outer end portion, the

strip 65* being connected to the spiral 64 by means of a bolt 66, as is clearly shown in Fig. 9. As is best'illustrated in Fig. 10 the spiral 64 is in the form of a channel opening inwardly, the electric light wire 61 being mounted between the upwardly extending flange of the channel and the auxiliary reinforcing bar 65 so as to be supported securely in position. At its inner end, the spiral 64 is provided with a 'socket member 68 within which one or.more electric light'bulbs 69 are removably mounted in centered position with respect to the spiral. Threaded inside of the spiral 64, there is aparchment- 10 having hooked engagement with the end portions of the spiral structure 'for securing the parchment firmthreaded along the tube 38, as is best indicated I in Fig. 5.

Along the straight portion of the tubular member 38 and inside of the loop portions 39 and 40 a sheet of parchment 44 is mounted, having notched engagement at its ends with the inwardly turned end portions of the tube so as to cause the parchment to be held snugly in position as shown in said Figs. 4 and 5. The arrangement is such that the parchment 44 is adapted to display to very great advantage any advertising subject matter printed on its front face, as will be appreciated from an inspection of Fig. 4.

ly in position. For insuring the support of the parchment within the" spiral, I have provided a series of lugs 1| in spaced relation to each other about the scroll so as to have, readily releasable engagement with the spiral member 64, as is best indicated in Fig. 10. 'By the provision of the lugs 1| engaging the spiral member 64, I am assured that the parchment scroll 10 willbe maintained at all times in the designed shape and in the designed position.

By the improved arrangementas shown and as above described, a highly effective and attractive lamp construction has been attained in which the light is diffused thoroughly, and by which objectionable glare is prevented. The arrangement is such, also, as to avoid shadows upon the ceiling and walls almost entirely. By the diffusion of the light through succeeding plies of the translucent scroll material, the light is made very mellow and even, and the gradation of light from the one point to another is effected without abrupt contrast from one point to another, since the edge portions of the parchment are not supported except as they form parts of the parchment as a whole.

While I prefer to employ the form and arrangement of parts as shown in my drawings and as above described it is to be understood that my invention is not limited to the arrangement of parts as shown except so far as the claims thereto are limited, it being understood that changes might well be made in the form and arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim:

1. In a lamp, the combination of means for producing light, spiral supporting means formed of strip material bent into shape about the light producing means in substantially centered position with respect thereto, and a piece of translucent sheet material in the form of a scroll supported by said spiral supporting means in spaced relation to the ends of the scroll and comprising a plurality of thicknesses of the sheet in spaced relation to said light producing means and in spaced relation to each other and with the outer end portion of the sheet material of decreased width so as to cause the outer turns of the scroll to be shorter than the inner turns.

2. In a lamp, the combination of a resilient strip of material bent into spiral form adapted to yield upon the application of pressure thereon, a means for producing light connected with said spiral member in substantially centered position with respect thereto, means for supporting said spiral member and said light producing means, and a piece of resilient translucent sheet material threaded inside of said spiral member and held yieldingly thereby in spiral form with the sheet material holding the spiral member in slightly expanded condition.

3. In a lamp, the combination of a base, a strip of resilient material mounted at an intermediate point on said base with its end portions at opposite sides of the point of connection with the base bent into the form of loops, a piece of translucent sheet material mounted on said strip so as to be held in position thereby with the end portions of the sheet material shaped by said loops, and margin stop means carried by said strip for limiting the edgewise movement of the sheet material with respect to said loops, said piece of sheet material being of such length as to expand said loops slightly against their resiliency for causing the loops to press snugly against the sheet material.

4. In a lamp, the combination of a strip of material bent into spiral form, a base on which said spiral is mounted on edge at an intermediate point therealong, a means for producing light connected with the inner end portion of said strip in substantially centered position with respect to the spiral, and a piece of translucent sheet material threaded inside of said spiral member so as to be held thereby in spiral form and having its end portions held in position by hooked end portions of said strip.

5. In a lamp, the combination of a strip of material bent into spiral form, a clip on the inner end of said spiral adapted to be supported by engagement with an electric light bulb at substantially the center of curvature of the spiral, and a piece of translucent sheet material positioned inside of said spiral member so as to be held thereby in spiral form and having its end portions held in position by engagement with stop portions of the spiral at the opposite ends of the strip.

6. In a lamp, the combination of a standard, a strip of supporting material bent into spiral form and mounted in a horizontal plane on said standard, a means for producing light connected with the inner end portion of said spiral so as to be held in substantially centered position with respect to the spiral, a piece of translucent sheet material positioned inside of said spiral member so as to be held in spiral form thereby, and supporting devices on said sheet at comparatively small intervals therealong adapted by loose contact with said spiral to hold the sheet material removably in position pressed outwardly against the strip by the resiliency of the sheet.

'7. In a lamp, the combination of a standard, a strip of material in the form of a, channel bent into spiral form with the channel opening inwardly and mounted in horizontal position on said standard, a reinforcing bar curved to conform with the shape of the spiral connected with said standard and engaging an intermediate portion of said spiral for supporting it more strongly in position, a means for producing light connected with the inner end portion of said spiral so as to be held in substantially centered position with respect to the spiral, a piece of translucent sheet material threaded inside of said spiral member so as to be held in spiral form thereby, and lugs on the outer face of said sheet at spaced points thereon adapted by engagement inside of the channel of said strip to support the sheet material in position.

DONALD W. PAUL. 

